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Lord Ryder
"Pardon my interruption, Commander, but I need a real fighter. Not a flutist with a rank..." - Lord Ryder Lord Matthew Ryder is the Warlord of the Val'kyr and the central deuteragonist of the series. Biography Ryder was initially trained as a champion for Athena before going rogue and plotting against her. With the help of his wife, Megan Ryder, the two of them took control of the Capital and killed Athena. Knowing that her death would not be permanent, the two of them started to build a new and functioning society to fend off any attempt to return she might make. While Megan worked on securing resources and infrastructure for the damaged Capital, Ryder went off into the far reaches of the galaxy to collect knowledge about combat and magic that had so far exceeded his capabilities. Finding multiple masters throughout the galaxy, he mastered thousands of magical and physical arts and methods of crafting weapons, armor and structures, along with many ingenious methods of securing food. Ryder returned from his pilgrimage and began training apprentices and new Masters, creating a war machine that proved itself to be unstoppable for over a billion years. Despite standing up to tens of thousands of powerful foes, Ryder would eventually be taken out of action by Princess Luna, who had a full working knowledge of his tactical methods, and overloaded his body with Void magic until it eventually detonated. Personality Lord Ryder was often described as being rigid as stone. His demeanor often very collected and calculated. Even in battle, his warriors described him as a well oiled machine of war than a living being. Ryder did this deliberately. Keeping a very neutral attitude succeeded in placating and intimidating an individual simultaneously. Ryder calculated every word he spoke so even the slightest change in tone could affect others to a significant degree. As such, it was often perceived that Ryder had no emotion, when in reality he limited his expression to a far smaller range. Only Ascentia and Megan could read him. Ryder was one of the more arrogant and dismissive Val'kyr when it came to mortals. He frequently dismissed the attempts of several civilizations to intimidate him, on on many instances exterminated them. This was especially true for Divine beings and Shivarra, whom he murdered on sight. Mortals allying with the Val'kyr often did so entirely out of necessity, the most noteable example being when Princess Luna asked Ryder for help from the Val'kyr in defeating the Stonehoof Tribe. Relations with Val'kyr are extremely tenuous, despite other Val'kyr being very sociable. Leadership Ryder was an exceptionally capable leader, and rarely (if ever) led his people to defeat. His tactics were cold and ruthless, and his flagrant disregard for mortal rights were a key aspect to many of his victories. Ryder practiced, and frequently encouraged, the killing of civilians, the targeting of families, the destruction of tertiary targets like hospitals and schools, active uses of terrorism, and the total destruction of enemy morale. His amoral strategies often sent his enemies into a scattered, disorganized mess. He cared little for the supposed ethical implications of things like murder and mind control. His only boundaries were tactics that he deemed unnecessary and a needless consumption of time and resources, such as torture and rape. His line of thought being "Why not cut out the middleman and kill them right now?" Politics As a politician, Ryder valued stability and security over anything else, believing that the human concept of "Freedom" was inconsequential if one was starving in a war-torn hole. He frequently criticized Humanity for putting the philosophy above more practical necessities. Powers and Abilities "All this talk of power levels and rank is naught but a facade created by mortals to falsify a sense of drama." - Lord Ryder Lord Ryder was a master of thousands of different martial and magical artforms, many born from a ten-thousand year pilgrimage across the galaxy, learning from many different masters and bringing that knowledge back with him to train his Val'kyr. Through this pilgrimage, he learned that most magical arts stemmed from only a few basic techniques, particularly arcane energy. This led to Ryder discovering that most Magi were not limited by innate strength of any kind, only by their resourcefulness. And the rigid adherence to "spells" and "schools" had severely handicapped their ability to exercise full control of their powers. Retracing his experiences, he sought to master the most basic magical artforms and fully understand their innate nature. Through this mastery, Ryder became practically omnipotent and quickly surpassed his teachers. He taught his students the importance of practical thinking and inventive strategies. He also stressed the importance of telekinesis, and how it could be used in an infinite number of ways to turn a situation to one's advantage. He also stressed how the search for "more power" was a futile one, and that the only thing one could acquire was mastery over their own. Legacy Lord Ryder was feared across the galaxy for his surgically efficient methods, regarded as everything from a cunning warlord to a brutal and unforgiving tyrant. Ryder exploited this reputation to gain leverage over others and extort powerful leaders. The titles he had earned across different civilizations eventually grew too numerous for him to keep track of (though his favorite was "Matriarch's Bane"). Ryder was also respected by the Equestrian people, for how effectively he overthrew the Stonehoof Tribe and liberated them. However, he was thoroughly loathed by both Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight. Both of whom saw his methods as barbaric and inhumane. He was also hated by Equestria's military, due to the sheer amount of derision he poured on them during the Siege of Canterlot for their poor training and terrible philosophy regarding warfighting. Lord Ryder was deeply respected and admired by his own people, many of them only referring to him as "The Master." He was also deeply loved by his three apprentices, especially Phyaun, who all saw him as a father. His death saw a massive period of mourning, followed by roars of unity when Phyaun asked who would help her avenge him. Trivia *Ryder is the only character who's entire design was overhauled between installments, rather than gradually like other characters. *Ryder is one of the few prominent male characters in the series, and the only male character to be in both a main protagonist and main villain role. Peet frequently refers to him as an "Anti-Villain." *Ryder is almost never referred to by his first name in either dialogue or the narrative. Only Megan ever uses his given name. *Ryder was designed to be "infinitely detestable" in every possible way. His amorality, his callousness, and his unnerving intelligence all work together to make a character who is evil in all but name, but unfortunately right in most of his decisions. His continued success is attributed to the fact that if he was consistently wrong, then his attitude would end up being funny instead of insufferable. *Ryder is often mistaken for Peet's "Self Insert" character. Category:Val'kyr Category:Main Characters